For the Fun of It Again

Over five years ago Jami and I spent an afternoon decorating cupcakes to look like stilettos. We managed to laugh throughout the whole time and it was and still remains a happy memory. I wrote about it here and posted several photos of that event including the one below.

We embellished with some of the candies I had in the house. My memory of that afternoon was sparked recently when I found both the Pirouline and Milano cookies together in a grocery store They make the heel and sole of the shoes respectively. Those cookies lead to an urge to try it again.

Today Susan is having a special birthday and what better than several pair of stilettos to celebrate. The cookies were purchased, the sanding sugar and a bow candy mold were secured at a local cake and candy store so everything was in line to begin a morning of creating. This is how the starting point looked.

On that multicolored plate are pink bows I made last night from pink chips

The frosting had to be made, but the typical buttercream I have been making for years seems far too sweet. I have wanted to make Swiss meringue buttercream for years, but it seemed daunting because egg whites have to be heated in a double boiler to 138F degrees. What a ninny I´ve been. It took less than 5 minutes to get the whites, sugar and salt to the proper temperature. Then another five minutes required to whip the whites to cool down before adding the butter gave me time to get the bowls to color the frosting in order. There was one more 10 minutes of whipping after the butter was added. Getting a picture of the frosting whipping away was not difficult.

Then the creative fun really started. After about 2.5 hours there were 6 pairs of shoes ready to go.

One special stiletto was saved for the birthday girl.

Showing off my specially made pink bows

My need to be creative has been satisfied for another day and the whole time I could think about all the fun Jami and I had years ago.

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